This Week’s Best Release: Slow Pulp’s Yard
Slow Pulp are as earnest as a band can be. With their most recent offering Yard (out 9/29 Via ANTI-) the group’s second LP exemplifies how amazingly straightforward yet impactful their songwriting and musicianship is. Yard is not a flashy record and it has no reason to be. Everything the album accomplishes is done in a fresh way that builds upon what fans have come to love from Slow Pulp.
Slow Pulp (singer/guitarist Emily Massey, guitarist/producer Henry Stoehr, drummer Teddy Mathews, and bassist Alex Leeds) came together during their days at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, since then the group has migrated to Chicago. The band’s chemistry is evident and seeps out of their music. Making listening to each of the band's releases feel like a sentimental experience. Yard once again captures and expands on that experience.
The writing and recording process of the bands prior album Moveys was one of isolation and unplanned difficulties. With Massey being diagnosed with lyme disease and chronic mono. Then a few days before covid lockdowns her parents were involved in a car accident and she returned to Wisconsin to care for them. The outcome of this resulted in Massey recording vocals in a home studio with her father Michael.
The band elected to repeat this process with Yard. “This time, we decided to do it because it went so well the first time. My dad is a musician and a singer and has a lot of really insightful things to say, especially about delivery,” Massey explained. “Working together we can be very honest with each other in a way that I wouldn't be able to do with a stranger or a producer that's not my family. He already has so much context for what the songs are about, knowing my life so intimately. He is able to be very direct, saying things I often don't want to hear but need to hear. I think it often leads to getting the best takes out of me.”
Recording with Michael wasn’t the only lesson the band took from the pandemic-era recording of Moveys. Yard first started taking shape in February 2022. At the time Massey was staying alone at a cabin in northern Wisconsin. Themes of isolation and the subsequent process of learning to be comfortable with yourself sprout up throughout Yard, right alongside the importance of learning to trust, love, and lean on others.
Catchy and poppy sing-along tracks like ‘Slugs’, ‘Doubt’, and ‘MUD’, juxtaposed with the slower emotionally raw tracks such as ‘Broadview’ create immense depth in Yard. ‘Broadview’ is a highlight of Massey’s killer vocals. Paired with the weepy ballad containing a multitude of americana influences, this track is an unexpected standout on the record.
Throughout each song on the album, Massey’s raw lyrics and stunning vocals over fuzz driven guitars, acoustic melodies, and on occasion pedal steel and banjos create constant sentimentality. By the time the 10 song - 30 minute album closes out with the gentle guitar strums and introspective lyrics of self acceptance of ‘Fishes’, the urge to repeat the album is irresistible.
Yard will be an album on repeat for a long time and we are very excited to see these songs come to life on the stage as Slow Pulp kicks off their fall tour with BABEHOVEN in Milwaukee on October 4th.
Slow Pulp Tour Dates:
Wed. Oct. 04 - Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo - Backroom %
Thu. Oct. 05 - Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam Hall %
Fri. Oct 06 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown %
Sun. Oct. 08 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall % - SOLD OUT
Tue. Oct. 10 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court & [Early Show]
Tue. Oct. 10 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court % [Late Show] - SOLD OUT
Thu. Oct. 12 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos %
Fri. Oct. 13 - Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl on Granville %
Sat. Oct. 14 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre %
Mon. Oct. 16 - San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel % - SOLD OUT
Wed. Oct. 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom %
Fri. Oct. 20 - San Diego, CA @ Voodoo % - SOLD OUT
Sat. Oct. 21 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room % - SOLD OUT
Sun. Oct. 22 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge %
Tue. Oct. 24 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall %
Wed. Oct. 25 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada %
Thu. Oct. 26 - Austin, TX @ The Parish %
Sat. Oct. 28 - Atlanta, GA @ Purgatory %
Sun. Oct. 29 - Durham, NC @ Motorco %
Mon. Oct. 30 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage %
Tue. Oct. 31 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry %
Wed. Nov. 1 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom % - SOLD OUT
Fri. Nov. 3 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall % - SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 4 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom % - SOLD OUT
Mon. Nov. 6 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz %
Tue. Nov. 7 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern %
Fri. Nov. 10 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater %
Sat. Nov. 11 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall %
% w/ Babehoven
